Inventing Anna episode 5 recap: Does Neff keep in touch with Anna?

On Inventing Anna episode 5, we learn more about the relationship between Anna and Neff, as well as the story that ruined Vivian’s career. Read on to learn what happened in Inventing Anna episode 5, “Check Out Time.”

Inventing Anna episode 5 recap: Why does Neff help Anna?

Neff says that in the beginning, Anna was merely a means to an end. She needed money to fund her feature, and Anna liked to make it rain. Neff was a hustler and great at hospitality, but her peers from film school looked down on her for working at the hotel.

She does everything to accommodate Anna, including giving her special tables and comping wine, which pays off. Anna keeps paying her, and Neff keeps doing her favors, like getting her on all the hottest databases. Neff’s friend thinks Anna’s trying to distract her from something, but Neff doesn’t care.

Neff and Anna especially bond after Neff swoops in and saves her from a creepy businessman. The two commiserate about sexism in the industry, and Anna says she knew Neff was a creative from the beginning since she has a vibe about her. Anna makes her feel special, buying her dresses and inviting her to hang out with her friend Rachel from Vanity Fair and Kacy, a fitness instructor.

One night while drunk, Anna says she likes to give money to others because it’s meant to be spent and she didn’t grow up with it. This confuses Neff, and she quickly clarifies that her dad was rich but he didn’t let her spend it. Neff reveals she and her mom were close and she came to New York to figure out who she was without her. Anna encourages her to take a leap with her movie, but Neff says it’s not that simple for people like her.

Inventing Anna episode 5 recap: Does Neff keep in touch with Anna?

Neff starts to get suspicious of Anna when it looks like things don’t add up with her lease and she discovers she doesn’t have a credit card on file at the hotel. Neff even has to pay while they’re out to dinner one night. Neff looks into her charges and is shocked by everything she hasn’t paid — as well as the fact Aby Rosen has never heard of her. Anna gets kicked out of the hotel, and Neff doesn’t try and step in and stop it.

Neff feels guilty about abandoning her, but her boyfriend gives her a pep talk, saying she doesn’t lack the funds to make her film dreams come true — she lacks the confidence. When Anna’s money does come through on a wire, Neff feels bad about not standing up for her but invigorated that she was the real deal after all. Anna tells Neff she’s better than the hotel and invites her on a trip. Neff can’t go since she has no vacation days left, but Anna tells her that life is for living.

Neff tells Vivian that it became about something much more than money with Anna eventually. Neff even visits her in jail at the end of the episode, telling her about how she’s still working at her hotel but shooting her film on the weekends. Anna seems to be genuinely happy she visited and interested in her life.

Inventing Anna episode 5 recap: Why happened to Vivian’s career?

American Investigated recently released a promo about a show highlighting fake news, and Vivian’s Donovan Lamb article is going to be included — something that makes Vivian scrambled when she does to visit Anna. Though Anna pushes her to open up, Vivian refuses to share, which hurts Anna’s feelings.

Paul tries to convince her to give the show a full interview to clear the record, saying he pulled all his strings to get her the opportunity. He says they used to be a great team that had fun together and never meant for anything to end the way it did. She promises to think about it.

Vivian’s husband watches the clips from the show, and it is rather damning. After Todd questions Vivian about it, she finally comes clean with the whole Donovan story. She says she was just offered an on-air job when Paul asked her to do an article about things to love about New York. She did it as a favor, highlighting Donovan Lamb, who made millions as a teen investor. When the article was published, Paul gave it a sexy headline, and many other outlets picked it up. Unfortunately, they didn’t vet it closely enough, and the kid didn’t actually have any money, ruining her credibility and career.

Vivian told the truth, but Paul threw her under the bus. He was promoted while she was fired. All of her colleagues turned on her just like that — something that still hurts her. Todd compliments her hair and shows her an embarrassing commercial he filmed to make her feel better.

Feeling better by Todd’s comfort, Vivian goes to Paul and tells him he should go do the interview to tell everyone about how he betrayed her and hurt her for his personal gain.

What did you think of the episode? Comment your thoughts below!